CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA -- ODU fell to Northern Illinois 14-26 Saturday afternoon. At a tri-match in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Monarchs found themselves across the mat from two teams that had been receiving votes in the national rankings all season long. Despite wins by four of the Monarchs, the ranked grapplers of NIU were able to dispatch Old Dominion. In the second match of the day, ODU could not topple the home team, Northern Iowa, and fell 16-20.

Nationally ranked Pat Castillo took care of Old Dominion's 125-pounder Kyle Hutter to begin the match with a technical fall, 20-5 in the third period. The Monarchs would take the lead, however, after the next two bouts.

Senior Christian Staylor continued his dominance with a major decision over Gralan Early. The 15-4 major was Staylor's eighth this season as he improved to 11-2 in dual competition. Sophomore Ryan Williams bounced back after a tough weekend at the CAA Duals and earned a 7-5 sudden victory over senior Justin Metcalfe. The win put the Monarchs up 7-5.

The lead would teeter back in favor of the Huskies as Joey Metzler lost a major decision to nationally ranked Mike Grimes. It was Metzler's first collegiate appearance in dual competition as he was across the mat from the seasoned NCAA Qualifying senior and 7th best 149-pounder in the country.

With the deficit two points at 7-9, Chris Brown would put ODU back in front for the final time of the match. He earned a 2-1 decision over Kalen Knull in the 157-lb. bout and gave the Monarchs a 10-9 lead.

Unfortunately for ODU, the next three bouts would put the lead out of reach. Nick Pullano suffered his first dual loss of the season at the hands of Johnny Galloway, the 10th ranked 165-pounder in the nation. It was then the Huskies brother combo at 174- and 184-pounds with a pair of major decisions that would seal the match for Northern Illinois.

Older brother Danny earned an 18-7 major decision over Derek Coffey and then younger brother Duke (ranked 16th) dispatched Jesse Strawn in an 11-3 major decision.

David Mendoza would take a major decision of his own over Nick McClone in the 197-lb. bout, but the win proved too little too late for the Monarchs. Dave Benner finished out the win for the Huskies over Matt Pellar, 7-4.

After the loss, the Monarchs turned to face an equally formidable opponent in Northern Iowa.

Kyle Hutter started things off a little better for the Monarchs in the 125-lb. bout. He earned a 12-3 major decision over Grant Ruge, his fourth of the year. The Panthers struck back immediately, however, as Christian Staylor dropped a one point decision to Kyle Anson. Anson earned a crucial three-point nearfall in the second period that would prove the difference. The 5-4 decision was just the third dual loss of the year for Staylor.

Williams bounceback weekend continued with an 8-1 decision over Mike Whisler. However, after Williams win, the Panthers would string together five straight bout victories to seal the victory with a 20-7 lead.

Kaylen Baxter, Brown, Pullano, Coffey, and Strawn would all fall to their respective opponents in sequence creating an insurmountable margin.

Mendoza would finish a strong weekend by defeating Andrew Anderson 9-2. It was another quality win for Mendoza because Anderson is ranked 19th in the NWCA rankings. Pellar would take six team points home with a forfeit to make the final score 16-20.

The Monarchs record drops to 10-6 as they prepare to host Virginia Tech in the first ever match at The Ted this Thursday night. The first match with be streamed live via Monarch All-Access. Admission is free for ODU students, $6 for adults and $4 for children, military, and seniors. During the match, Old Dominion will recognize the All-Time ODU Wrestling Team.